Going from ending Summer 2016 fighting in the promotion tournament to retain their LCS spot, to ending Spring 2017 as the #3 seed going into the playoffs, Phoenix1 showed one of the biggest turnarounds in the LCS. As a new organization going into the 2016 Summer split, little was expected to come from Phoenix1, and …
Continue reading “Phoenix Rising: From the Ashes of Relegation”
““Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight. I am no more worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired servants.” He arose, and came to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran towards him, …
Continue reading “Redemption: The Return of TSM"e;s Prodigal Son”
In the short three weeks it’s been on the air, the Hearthstone Global Games (HGG)—a $300,000 national competition which will broadcast team-based competition for almost half a year—has become the game’s richest tournament in terms of class and archetype diversity. Dozens of different decks have already been played, the meta evolving week to week and …
Continue reading “How the Global Games became Hearthstone’s most diverse tournament ever”
This week, Immortal’s graciously allowed me the chance to have a sit-down interview with two leaders in their own rights, George "Hyped" Maganzini and Stefano "Verbo" Disalvo. I had the chance to pick their brains on overall communication, what they thought of Korean imports on Western teams, and a little dive into what they do …
Earlier this week, Esports Heaven had the opportunity to ask Beoumjun “Bishop” Lee some questions. Previously an English speaking teacher in Korea and a player for the moderately successful team, KongDoo Panthera, he is currently coaching the well-known and beloved Western team Cloud9. Hello! Hello once again, RadoN, and greetings Esports Heaven! How did …
This week, I am join by the lovely Mike “Midnight” Ryan, Flex Tank/DPS player for Rise Nation. How are we doing today Mr. Ryan? I'm doing great how about you? Fantastic! Wishing for better weather but I'll take what I can get! Let's start from the beginning, where did you find your esports …
The League of Legends and NBA playoffs are both in full swing which places two Kings of their respective games in position to seize another championship. Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok and LeBron James have dominated since their professional careers began and are both living representations of “the chosen one”. Subsequently, the two stars dynasties align in …
Continue reading “Clash of Kings: Comparing Faker and LeBron”
Samsung’s recent semi-final against KT Rolster was the benchmark for whether the roster were truly overachievers or if they’d just squeaked into 2nd place in the standings with a miracle 9-1 run in the second half of the split. The newly assembled super team dismantled Samsung 3-0, resetting their reputation as a contender to become SKT’s …
Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy: Establishing the Rebuild Model”
With the end of the season wrapping up with a Cinderella story, RunAway making the finals and meeting the perennial throne-chasers in Lunatic-Hai, what can we look forward to in the next season? With OGN’s APEX Season 3 is right around the corner, let's take a look at some of the prevailing storylines coming out …
Continue reading “Volamel"e;s Viewpoint: Scouting Ahead — APEX Season 3 Storylines”
A recurring debate in the Overwatch community has been the discussion of what map draft formats should be used in tournaments. Which one is the best? But also, what will Blizzard approve of and allow for? In this piece, I examine three well known formats that have been used in big offline events, pointing out …
Continue reading “Assessing the Overwatch map drafting formats”